


Someone I Want You Too Meet

by romeoandjulietyouwish



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Panic Attacks, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has Anxiety, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Swearing, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 00:56:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19779943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romeoandjulietyouwish/pseuds/romeoandjulietyouwish
Summary: Tony introduces Peter to an old friend of his, Harley Keener. And Peter's anxiety gets the best of him.





	Someone I Want You Too Meet

**Author's Note:**

> This is my longest one-shot to date! I'm so thrilled about this and I can't wait for you guys to read this. This is based on my relationship with my sister and is basically me projecting on to Peter.

When Tony tells Peter that there’s someone he wants him to meet, Peter thinks that it’s probably one of his old friends for college or something. But when he walks into the workshop and sees Tony working side by side with a boy his own age, he is understandably shocked. The boy has tanned skin with soft freckles on his arms and cheeks. His brown hair is neatly styled and parted, Peter can’t say the same for his own. And his clothes are clearly expensive, Peter’s are not. 

Tony and the boy look up when the music quiets down, cueing Peter’s entrance. Tony grins and begins to walk towards him, but the boy does not look very happy to see him. 

“Hey, kid,” Tony says, ruffling Peter’s hair. “How was school?”

Peter bats Tony’s hand away and attempts to flatten his curls, “It was fine.”

Tony sighs, but puts his arm around Peter’s shoulders, “Come on, I want to introduce you two.” Peter takes a deep breath and allows Tony to lead him to stand in front of the boy. “Peter this is Harley, Harley this is Peter.” 

Harley extends his hand to Peter, “It’s nice to meet you.” Harley has a nice smile, Peter thinks.

“You-you too,” Peter says shyly. They shake hands, “How did you meet Tony?”

“He crash landed in my backyard when I was like ten or something,” Harley says with an amused smile. “I helped him fix his suit and go back home. We stayed in touch.” Harley sits down on his chair, “How did you two meet?”

“He just showed up in my apartment one day about two or three years ago,” Peter shrugs. 

Harley laughs, twisting a pencil between his fingers, “Really?” Peter nods, looking down at his shoes. 

Tony notices Peter’s change in behavior, and changes the subject, “You know, Pete, Harley’s going to MIT in the fall, he graduated a year early.”

“That’s really cool,” Peter says, mustering up as much enthusiasm as he can. Harley looks at him with an expression that asks Peter why he’s being so weird. “Um, is it okay if I get to work? I have a lot of homework to finish up.”

Tony frowns, “Okay, kid.” So Peter gets quietly to work. He works slower than normal, his brain not wanting to stay focused on the task at hand. But he keeps finding himself watching how Tony and Harley interacted. Their relationship was clearly similar to Peter’s own relationship with the man, but they seemed more comfortable around each other. Tony would playfully punch his shoulder and push him away and Harley would always laugh and reciprocate the gesture. Tony is always more gentle with Peter, patting his shoulder or ruffling his hair. 

Tony swears more around Harley too. Peter doubts he even knows he’s doing it, but nearly every other sentence has a swear in it. It’s not that Peter minds swearing, but it’s just strange to hear his mentor swearing. Then Peter understands, Tony thinks of Peter as fragile, breakable. While he thinks of Harley as strong and withstanding. 

Peter hates him.

Peter doesn’t say a word for three hours. He checks his watch constantly, waiting for it to be seven so Happy can take him home. When it finally becomes seven, Peter shoves his books and pencils into his bag. He doesn’t even say goodbye to Tony as he leaves, but Tony doesn’t even notice.

“Right on time today? Christmas has come early,” Happy jokes when Peter slides into the backseat. Peter scoffs and rolls his eyes, but doesn’t say anything. Happy frowns, “Everything alright, kid?”

Peter nods, “Yeah, long day.” Happy nods in understanding. 

Peter pops in his earbuds as they pull out of the garage and closes his eyes, forcing himself into a bubble. Happy gives him a concerned look when he leaves the car without saying anything, but Peter pretends not to notice. 

Tony calls Peter and invites him to the lab again on Thursday, Peter tells him he has too much work to do. But come Friday, he can’t avoid the Tower anymore. On Friday morning, May is leaving for a work conference out of state and Tony volunteered to house Peter for the weekend. Peter hates himself for not wanting to go, but he has no other options.

When Peter arrives at Tony’s on Friday after school, he doesn’t go straight to the lab like normal. Instead, he takes his time dropping his bag off in his room, changing clothes, and getting a snack before slowly making his way to the elevator. FRIDAY greets him sweetly and asks about his day as she brings him three floors lower to Tony’s lab. But any of Peter’s remaining good mood vanishes as soon as the elevator stops. Peter can hear how loud the music is before the doors even open. He looks down at his shoes, with Harley, Tony doesn’t have to worry about hurting his ears. 

Peter walks slowly towards the lab, trying not to wince at the volume of the music. He gingerly opens the door and the music quiets the second he’s inside. Tony’s head whips up from where he and Harley are working on a car in the middle of the room. Peter ducks his head and walks quickly to his table. Tony frowns and walks over to Peter, leaning on his desk.

“Everything alright?” Tony asks. 

Peter nods without looking up, “Yeah, I just have a lot of ideas that I want to get started on.” If Peter looked up, he would have seen how much Tony disbelieves him. But he doesn’t. 

“Alright, kid. Let me know if you need help.”

Peter manages to work for nearly an hour and a half before he gets stuck. He tries for another half hour to figure out what is wrong, but he can’t. “Tony?” Peter asks. Tony looks up from where he’s working on the Iron Man gauntlet. “Can you help me?”

Tony smiles, “Sure thing, kid.” Tony rolls over and begins to scroll through the code on Peter’s screen. His brow furrows. “I don’t see anything wrong. You sure it’s not working?” Peter nods. 

“Could I help?” Harley asks. He walks confidently over to Peter’s desk. Peter doesn’t say anything, but Harley looks through the code anyway. He laughs when he sees the mistake, “You spelled this wrong, i before e, Pete.” Peter blushes, he twists his fingers in his hands. He does not like Harley and he really doesn’t like that he called him ‘Pete’. Yeah, it was a dumb mistake, but Harley laughing him only makes it worse.

Peter goes back to work without saying anything, but he overhears Tony telling Harley how proud he is of him for catching Peter’s mistake. Anger and jealous boil in his stomach. Why can Tony show so much affection for Harley but not for Peter? He plants his eyes on his hands and does his best to ignore Harley and Tony. Peter can only take twenty more minutes before he has to leave. He tells Tony that he has some homework to do and when Tony tells him to bring it down, Peter says that he wants some quiet. 

Before the elevator doors even close, Peter can hear the music blasting once more.

When Peter gets to his room, he immediately shuts and locks the door behind him. He sheds his shoes in the corner and hides under the pile of blankets on his bed, finding comfort in the heaviness and warmth they provide.

Deep down Peter knows that he has no reason to be mad at Harley or Tony. Neither of them have done anything wrong. Peter is just being dramatic. Harley has given him no reason to hate him and has been mostly kind to Peter. So why does he hate him? _Because he’s better than you_ , his brain supplies, _he’s better than you’ll ever be. That’s why Tony hates you too much because you’re weak. Harley can stand loud music, Harley doesn’t get panic attacks, Harley is smarter than you, Harley’s known Tony for longer, Harley’s going to Tony’s alma mater, Harley’s better. Why would Tony need you when he has Harley?_

Peter muffles his sobs against his blankets, pulling them even tighter around him. He knows it’s true, it all makes sense.

“Peter, are you alright?” FRIDAY yanks him out of his thoughts. “Would you like me to alert Boss of your distress?”

“No!” Peter chokes out, popping his head out of the blankets. “FRIDAY, please don’t do that.” Peter wipes his cheeks roughly and sits on the edge of his bed. “FRIDAY what are Tony and Harley doing right now?”

“They are cooking dinner,” FRIDAY replies. 

“Can I hear the audio?” Peter asks he pulls lightly on a loose string from his blanket. 

FRIDAY doesn’t respond, but a few seconds later, Harley’s voice comes through the speakers, “-dn’t know you knew how to cook, old man.” Tony and Harley laugh. 

“I don’t, but I know how to follow instructions.”

There is a small pause, “Can I ask you something?” Harley asks nervously. 

“Shoot.”

“Does Peter hate me?” Peter pulls his knees to his chest. He hates how sad Harley sounds. 

Tony sighs, “I don’t know. In all honesty, I don’t really understand Peter sometimes.” Peter frowns. “I’m sure once you two get talking, he’ll never shut up and if he hates you, so what? You’ll still have me.” Peter presses his head to his knees, hoping to hide the tears spilling from his eyes.

“I love you, Tony,” Harley says quietly. 

“I love you too,” Tony responds. Peter’s heart shatters in his chest. 

“I think that’s enough, Peter,” FRIDAY says, turning off the audio.

Tony has never once told Peter he loves him. _It’s because he hates you. You’re so annoying, he hates how much you talk and he hates how stupid you are and how you never understand anything. Love is too good for someone like you. A mutant. Harley’s normal. He wishes you were too. ___

__Peter sobs loudly, quickly muffling the sound against his arm. Peter roughly wipes his cheeks and takes a deep breath._ _

__“FRIDAY, if Tony asks where I am can you tell him I’m not feeling well?” He asks._ _

__“Alight, Peter,” FRIDAY says and Peter swears he can hear a hint of sympathy in her voice. He throws the blankets over his head and resolves to stay there until morning._ _

__In the morning, Peter doesn’t wake up in time for breakfast, but FRIDAY informs him that Tony and Harley are already down in the lab. So, he takes his time with his morning routine, even taking the time to make himself a normal breakfast. He manages to waste an hour and fifteen minutes before he runs out of valid things to do. But instead of going down to Tony’s lab, Peter goes up to Bruce’s._ _

__“Hey, Peter,” Bruce says when Peter comes into the lab. Unlike Tony’s lab, Bruce’s is neatly organized and has no loud music blasting from the speakers. And best of all, no Tony or Harley._ _

__“Hi, Bruce, could I work in here today?” He asks. “I have a chemistry project for school I need to get done.”_ _

__Bruce smiles at the boy, “Sure, you can work on that table over there, okay? Ask if you need any help.”_ _

__“Thanks, Bruce!” Peter gets to work with a small smile. He’s always been better at chemistry and biology than he has been at engineering. And somehow he doubts Harley knows the first thing about genetics._ _

__He and Bruce work in companionable silence. Once in a while, Peter calls Bruce over to look over his work, but he finds comfort in the silence. For the first time this weekend, Peter allows himself to get lost in his work, letting the minutes fly away._ _

__“Peter,” FRIDAY interrupts, “Boss is wondering where you are.”_ _

__“Tell him I’m with Bruce,” Peter doesn’t even look up from his work._ _

__“He wants you to come and work with him on his updates to Rhodey’s suit.”_ _

__Peter sighs, he does love working with the Iron Man tech. He shakes his head, “Have Harley do it.”_ _

__“Boss wants you, Peter.” _That’s not true.__ _

__Peter puts down his work and pulls at his hair, “Tell him I have homework.”_ _

__FRIDAY doesn’t reply for a moment, but then says, “He says fine, but you should plan on having lunch with him and Harley.” _He’s doing it out of pity.__ _

__Peter sighs and gets back to work. Bruce watches him for a moment before walking over to the boy’s workstation, “Peter can I ask you something?” Peter nods. “Are you in here to avoid Tony?” Peter shakes his head. “Are you lying to me?” Peter pauses, then nods. Bruce leans on the table, “Peter, what’s going on?”_ _

__He shrugs, “It’s nothing.” Bruce gives him a look so Peter says, “It’s just...since Harley’s been here, I’m just kinda feeling...unwanted, you know? And I feel like crap for hating Harley without a reason, and I hate that I’m angry because I have no right to be-”_ _

__“Peter.” Bruce puts his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You have every right to feel your emotions. If you are angry, or jealous, or just annoyed, it’s okay. You should talk to Tony. Explain it to him, and I promise he’ll understand.”_ _

__Peter looks down, “What if he thinks I’m being a brat?”_ _

__Bruce puts his hand on his shoulder, Peter looks up at the man’s soft eyes, “He won’t. Peter. That man loves you like you’re his own son. I bet he is worried sick about you right now and he just wants to understand what’s going on.”_ _

__Peter sniffs, pulling on his sleeves, “You think?”_ _

__Bruce nods, “I know.”_ _

__Peter sighs, “Then I will. Thanks, Bruce.”_ _

__When Tony calls Peter for lunch, Bruce gives Peter an encouraging smile as he leaves. Too quickly, the elevator arrives at the kitchen. Peter stills his hands against his legs and walks into the kitchen. Inside, Harley and Tony are making pasta over the stove, talking about something and laughing. Peter feels the ball of anxiety in his chest grow. He stands in the doorway for a second before forcing himself to walk into the room. At first, neither of them notice him, but when Tony looks over his shoulder and sees him, Peter feels panic taking root in his chest. It feels strange, unnatural to have this much anxiety around his mentor and Peter knows that Tony can feel it too._ _

__“You okay, Pete?” Tony asks as he walks towards the boy. Peter nods, even though he can feel his panic pushing against his throat. “What to try that again?” Peter hates the way Tony can see through him. _He doesn’t understand you. He said so himself. You’re just a nuisance. Now you’re panicking in front of Harley. He’s going to make fun of you, how weak you are. You have no place here. Not with Harley here.__ _

__“Boss,” FRIDAY says, “Peter is beginning to exhibit signs of a panic attack.”_ _

__“Shit,” Tony says. “Peter, can you look at me, buddy?” Peter shakes his head, even though he can feel his heart thundering in his chest. His cheeks flush with embarrassment when he sees that Harley is still here. He doesn’t need to give either of them more reason to hate him._ _

__So he runs._ _

__Peter pushes past Tony and runs back to his bedroom where he slams and locks the door behind him. He stumbles over to his bed and curls up on top of his blankets. He can hear Tony’s feet in the hallway and him talking to FRIDAY. The handle to his door shakes violently for a few seconds and then it stops._ _

__Peter forces his eyes closed and to focus on his breathing. But he can’t do it, his chest just keeps rising and falling too fast as he gasps for breath. He tries to focus on something in the room, but his eyes seem to be out of focus._ _

__Then Tony’s voice fills his room, coming from the speakers. He must be using FRIDAY. “Peter? Peter, I need you to breathe, alright? You’re having a panic attack.” Tony’s voice begins to guide him through his panic, and Peter tries his best to follow his mentor’s lead. “You’re doing so well, Peter, just a few more,” Tony promises. And sure enough, it only takes four more deep breaths for Peter to come back. He sighs and rolls onto his back, his knees scrunching up to his chest. The back of his neck is damp with sweat and his eyes are too heavy. He falls asleep before he hears Tony ask him to open the door._ _

__Peter wakes up exactly how he fell asleep. His shoes are still on and he is laying on top of the blankets. “FRIDAY?” He asks, rubbing his eyes, “What time is it?”_ _

__“It’s 4:23 pm, Peter.”_ _

__Peter thanks FRIDAY and pulls himself out of bed, he feels tired, but not sleepy. After changing his clothes, Peter decides the best thing for him to do is get a snack and then find Tony. He unlocks and opens the door, but before he can go anywhere, he sees Tony asleep against the wall. Peter’s heart warms at the sight, he stayed. _He pities you. He thinks you’re weak.__ _

__Peter shakes his head and kneels down beside Tony, gently shaking the man’s shoulder, “Tony?”_ _

__His eyes open slowly but they spring wide open when he sees Peter, “Peter!” Tony yanks Peter into a tight hug, “Are you alright?”_ _

__Peter nods, finding himself already relaxing into the familiar embrace, “Yeah, yeah I’m okay.”_ _

__Tony holds onto him for just a moment longer. Tony brushes Peter’s curls out of his face, “I think we need to talk, yeah?” Peter nods, knowing it’s pointless to argue. Peter helps Tony to his feet and they walk back into Peter’s room, both taking a seat on Peter’s bed. Tony leans against the wall and Peter leans against the headboard, his legs extended over Tony’s._ _

__“Peter, there’s something going on with you. You’ve been distant these past few days, you hardly talk to me, and you keep telling me you have homework. Are you okay?” Peter shakes his head. Tony softens, taking the boy’s hand, “Please tell what’s wrong so I can fix it.”_ _

__“Harley.” Peter says simply. He keeps his eyes fixed on his hands._ _

__“Oh.”_ _

__“Being around him makes me feel like shit,” Peter says quietly. “He’s so much better than me and you’ve known him for longer so I get it. I know that you’re trying to replace me with Harley and-”_ _

__“What?” Tony asks quickly. “Pete, what? No, I’m not. Peter-”_ _

__“Why not?” Peter wipes away his tears. “He’s smarter than me, he can listen to loud music with you, he’s going to MIT, you don’t have to worry about him, and-and...” Peter ducks his head against his knees, “You told him you love him.”_ _

__“Oh, Peter,” Tony says softly. He moves closer to Peter and begins to comb his fingers through the boy’s hair in a motion he knows he finds comforting, “You’re so wrong. I’m not replacing you, I never would. Peter, I don’t care that you give me a million grey hairs,” Peter sniffs with a small laugh, “I don’t care if you can’t stand loud music, I don’t care where you go to college. Peter, I care about _you_. You’re my kid, Pete. You’re the best person I know.” Peter presses his hand against his mouth to muffle his sobs, knowing it’s too good to be true. Tony, seeing what he is doing, pulls Peter into his lap and hugs him close. “I’m so sorry that I made you feel like that, Pete. I didn’t mean to push you out and I know Harley didn’t either.” He sighs, “I told Harley I loved him because it was easy. I’ve known him for a long time. You and I have a different relationship and I didn’t want to scare you by telling you I love you. Now I realize how fucking dumb that was. I love you, Peter and I will never stop worrying about you.” Peter sobs against Tony’s chest, fists clinging to the back of his shirt. Peter feels Tony press a kiss to the top of his head before laying his cheek down on his hair. “I love you so much, kid.”_ _

__“I...love you too,” Peter chokes out and he can feel Tony smile. But Peter still has more to say, “I’m-I’m sorry, Tony.”_ _

__“Shh...” Tony soothes. “It’s alright. All’s forgiven.” After a moment, Peter lifts himself off Tony’s chest. “Whatdaya say we get some food and the work in the lab for a bit?”_ _

__Peter nods, “Okay.”_ _

__The two of them leave Peter’s room and quickly make some sandwiches and take the elevator down to Tony’s lab. Harley looks up with a smile when the doors open, then he looks to Peter with a concerned frown, “You alright?”_ _

__Peter nods, “I’m okay, thanks.” Tony squeezes his shoulder in reassurance._ _

__“Hey, Harley,” Tony says after passing the boy a sandwich. “Why don’t you show Pete the problem you were having with the car? I think he could help fix it.”_ _

__Harley’s eyes light up, “Really?” Peter shrugs in agreement. “Yes! I need someone to help me who actually knows what he’s doing.” The boys laugh while Tony pretends to be offended._ _

__“I think I made a huge mistake by introducing you two.”_ _

__Peter laughs, “You did.” He and Harley high five before wolfing down their food and getting to work on the car._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thanks so much for reading this! Don't be afraid to comment or message me on tumblr about any of my fics. You can also find some of my shorter one-shots on my tumblr.
> 
> Tumblr- @romeoandjulietyouwish


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